Health and Fitness Goals

After setting my new health and fitness goals and losing 2 pounds last week, I'm on a mission to lose 10-12 more pounds in the next 6 weeks, which would put me back to my ideal healthy weight. I read recently that posting my goals online is one good way to keep myself accountable and focused so here we are. :)

A few great sources of fitness information, I've been doing the cardio workouts from the Self Drop 10 Challenge and using Calorie Counter to track the calories of recipes I create. Although, I do read the recipe recommendations of both sites and have tried a few of their recipes with modifications, I tend to cook using my own recipes given I have strict personal dietary requirements/restrictions that their recipes don't always accommodate for. Also, after the last five years of practicing, I've actually become great at creating and making healthy recipes that taste amazing! :)

As part of the process, I created a Health and Fitness page on Pinterest. I've been especially enjoying the workouts labeled Monday - Friday (pictured below) & am pleased with the results so far. I have yet to find/make time each week to do five 1-hour workouts. I am getting in four good 1-hour workouts each week and lengthening the cardio beyond 20 minutes at least twice a week to get more miles in.

Before I started this new routine, I was hiking Runyon Canyon regularly but wasn't weight training and had hit a plateau, not seeing any weight loss results and actually gained a few pounds over the winter. Although I was eating healthy & exercising regularly, I wasn't counting my calorie intake. So as I was discussing this frustration with my lack of results with my good friend (who's in fabulous shape BTW), he suggested added interval running for 20 minutes a day, 5 days per week and weight training to my routine. I agreed to try and see what happened.

When I decided to start incorporating running into my workout routine, I began with interval "jogging" on the treadmill for 20 minutes. I decided to improve and increase my speed each week to build strength without causing self-injury or strain from over-doing it. It has been years since I've been a "runner" and I wasn't sure how my body would react to be honest. I'm now interval jogging/walking between a 20 min mile pace and 11.2 min mile pace for 20 - 30 minutes + doing the weight training routines below and ending with a 10 - 15 minute stretch & yoga session. Last week, I cut my daily calorie intake to 1600 per day and am finally seeing results on the scale. 5.5 weeks to go...

Be Good To You!

~Author Unknown

One Day On Earth - 10/10/10 a.k.a. The Day I Almost Disappeared

Where were you on October 10, 2010?  That was the question I was asked prior to attending an LA Idea Project dinner series that hosted speakers Kyle Ruddick and Cari Ann Shim Sham, the team of One Day On Earth on February 12, 2011. This will be easy to figure out was my immediate thought. After all, among other things, I am a planner, a journalist and a photographer. I document and highlight key life moments daily, taking notes and pictures constantly of anything that intrigues, inspires or interests me. Or so I thought...

The day of the dinner, I searched high and low for evidence of my whereabouts on that day and came up blank. No notes or agenda written on my calendar, no pictures on my camera from that day, no emails written or received, no purchases made on my bank statements. The day was blank.  How was this possible? I wondered... What did I do that day?  I know I existed for here I still am. I didn't disappear. I must have done something?! Dig deeper, I thought.  I must have some record of that day.

As it turns out, in order to detox, remove and release some of the stress and pressure of an incredibly full & productive life in the big bustling city that is Los Angeles and to truly relax, maintain balance, stay healthy, focused and grounded, sometimes I decide to simply slow things down and take a day for myself  to just be quiet, rest and reflect.  As I researched further, I realized that Sunday, October 10, 2010 was one of those days. Not yet having discovered One Day On Earth's cause, I thought it was a perfectly auspicious day to do so given it was a Sunday and the date was numerically aligned & significant, a perfect day for silence and reflection.  I did receive two phone calls according to my phone records but other than that, I had nothing physical to contribute to the project.  Still wanting to participate, I submitted a postcard with a 24-hour circular timeline with two small pie pieces marking the time of those phone calls as my contribution to the evening, "The Day I Almost Disappeared".

That evening, I discovered and was in complete awe of clips of this incredible crowd sourced documentary of everything that had been transpiring around me in the universe while I had essentially disconnected. While I was taking a brief and rare moment of silence and reflection, people from every country in the world were participating in the global film experience that is now the film documentary One Day On Earth.

The film is currently screening until June 28th at the Laemmle Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills. After much excitement and anticipation to see the finished film, yesterday I finally experienced the final incredible connected documented journey of that One Day On Earth and highly recommend you experience the beauty of it for yourself. People from every country in the world documented and submitted footage on a variety of beautifully passionate topics from life to death including children, animals, nature, the environment, love, health, war, famine, politics, the economy, music, passion, and more. The film's Director, Kyle Ruddick was at the screening I attended yesterday for a question and answer session.  For more information and to participate in future events, please visit http://www.onedayonearth.org/

So do you know what were you doing on October 10, 2010?  Do your homework to figure it out and then go witness the film and experience all that was simultaneously connecting to you to life on Earth on that one day. It's perspective is collaborative, participatory and inspiring all in one moment.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Please also show your support by sharing this information with others. Thank you. :)

Native American Code of Ethics

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth - whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people's thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life's lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self - all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others - especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first. 

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.


This originally appeared in the "Inter-Tribal Times," October, 1994

Think about it... And then think about what you think about.

Baked eggs in a portabello mushroom with fresh herbs.

For brunch, I tried a variation of this recipe by Poor Girl Eats Well today and it was delicious.

The only changes I made was to the choice of herbs. I used fresh organic basil, thyme, cilantro,scallions and parsley. I baked the mixture for 30 minutes. Next time I would bake it for 27 minutes.

Here's a before and after pic. Healthy and delicious. Enjoy.

It's A Boy! "Baby Feet" Baby Shower

Baby Feet

On Saturday, I co-hosted a baby shower with four amazing ladies for 30 guests for our friend's first pregnancy/baby.

Our theme was Boy Baby Feet. Our party planning duties included:

• Decor (Tables / Chairs / Plates / Cups / Napkins / Balloons / Hanging Decor / Signs / Music) 
• Appetizers (Cheese Platter)
• Main Course (Tea Sandwiches / Spinach Pesto Salad / Veggie Platter)
• Desserts (Cake / Cake Pops / Cookies / Mints)
• Drinks (Cucumber Lemon Water / Lemonade / Champagne Punch / Coffee)
• Games & Gifts (Advice For Mommy Scrapbook / Baby Gift Bingo / Guess the Jelly Beans / Guess the Baby Animal Name / Gifts for Guests & Game Winners / Guest Sign-In Plate)

I made the Cucumber Lemon Water & the Baby Feet Cheese Platter. Because we love to entertain at home, I have created a great "dinner party" playlist that we used as the background music. 

Cucumber Lemon Water

Recipe for Cucumber Lemon Water

• 5 quarts of chilled water
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 small cucumber (5 inches), thinly sliced
• Ice

Thinly slice lemons & cucumbers and add slices to the pitcher/container. Add water & ice. Stir gently. Let sit for about an hour. Served 30 people (Just add more water to the pitcher as needed).

Baby Feet Cheese Platter

The Baby Feet Cheese Platter (Good rule: 1 oz. cheese per person)

• 6 blocks of cheese (Havarti with Dill, Gouda, Brie, Blue, Swiss Gruyere, Toscano)
• 2 packages of Sliced 4-Cheese Variety Party Pack
• Strawberries
• Grapes (Red & Green)
• Walnuts
• French Baguette
• Cracker Assortment

I used a footprint cookie cutter to cut the sliced cheese into baby feet as the border of the platter (I'm using the extra cheese bits to make a delicious quesadilla this week). I arranged the cheese on the plate, added the fresh fruit, sprinkled the walnuts into the holes. I made my own cheese labels (wrapped 2 address labels around the top of toothpicks using a pretty blue font) and supplied a separate knife for each cheese.

Gifts for the Mommy-To-Be

Instead of a guest book, the guests signed the baby feet plate. 

The "Advice for Mommy" cards were added to the scrapbook below using baby-themed stickers.

Main Lunch Course

Tea Sandwiches & Spinach Pesto Salad

Dessert / Games

Cake, Cake Pops, Diaper Cake, Guess The Jelly Beans, and Baby Feet Mints

Decor / Gifts

Wrapped potted daisy plants in a diaper were centerpieces (also, a parting table gift for guests). 

Baby Feet Lemon Cookies were a gift for guests.

The Cards on the table were for "Advice for Mommy".

What A Happy Day!!! :D